Clay Pigeon Caravan Park

Coo. Carrier your flock here for a barrel load of activities at any time of year: Clay Pigeon Caravan Park near Dorchester is next door to Southern Counties Lodge, the biggest shooting ground in the country and where beginners and experts alike can take a shot at lessons and sessions. Or kart the kids to the lodge’s go-kart circuit instead, home of national championships and where Lewis Hamilton won his first race. Sounds like one winning formula…

There’s a café bar at the lodge too, but for Sunday carvery and smart eats Clay Pigeon Caravan Park is adjacent to the new George Albert Hotel with the George and Kings restaurants, and there are tasty restaurants and pubs at Dorchester a short drive away (Dorset cream teas, say we).

The park has recently been redeveloped and has large pitches for tents, tourers and motorhomes, with electric hook-up available. It’s in the heart of the Dorset countryside just off the A37 at Wardon Hill, with easy access to Dorchester, Yeovil and the coast.

Site type

Languages spoken

&check; English

Reach the best features of beautiful Dorset within a short drive: country villages and traditional pubs, beaches and the Jurassic Coast, and the gardens, museums, shopping and sightseeing in and around Dorset’s towns and cities.

Historic Dorchester in the Frome Valley is Dorset’s country town: we confidently say there’s enough to do here for all the family whatever floats anyone's boat, from the Roman Amphitheatre and Roman townhouse to Thomas Hardy’s house to the award-winning Dinosaur Museum. Several other museums are sited in the town: again, all sorts should like the Dorset Teddy Bear Museum and the Tutankhamen Exhibition. Outdoors, the Borough Gardens a few minutes’ walk from the city centre have regular events, tennis courts, playground and a bowling green, and the Durnovaria Town Walk takes in Dorchester’s main sights.

Going coastwards, Weymouth and the Isle of Portland is where the 2012 Olympics sailing events were held and is wondrous for watersporters of all ilks and abilities. More relaxedly, there are old style pastimes like donkey rides and Punch and Judy on Weymouth’s sheltered sandy beach, a Georgian seafront to stroll down and a seventeenth century harbour to sit at, eat at and watch lobster, crab and fish being landed at. Catch a boat from here to try some sea fishing of your own; boats also go from Weymouth Harbour to the Channel Islands for day trips.

A bit further afield and to the east, Bournemouth and Poole have more Blue Flag beaches, watersports and family attractions: try the land train to Poole from Bournemouth, the Splashdown Water Park and Bournemouth Oceanarium to start. The Jurassic Coast is easy to reach from these regions too: if you’re not sure where to start, make your way to one of the gateway towns like Charmouth, Lyme Regis or back to Weymouth, and take a guided fossil walk from the Lyme Regis Museum or jump on a Jurassic Coast sea or overland trip from most towns and villages along the route.

Elsewhere in Dorset, sprogs will love you forevermore if you take them to the theme park Adventure Wonderland at Christchurch, the Sea Life at Lodmoor Country Park a short drive from Weymouth or to a punt around Putlake Adventure Farm in Swanage. Into neighbouring Hampshire, said sprogs will find Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World in the New Forest porking good fun, while bigger kids can swing around at one of Hampshire’s Go Ape! centres, at Ringwood, Southampton and Farnham.

Liked: The friendlyness of the staff, the quiet bar in the evening. Food was of a good standard.

Disliked: The yapping Jack Russell on the adjacent permanent pitch and the mess around that pitch

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7

A great site for seeing the sights and attractions of Dorset. 14 Sep 2014

simon g.
(Family with young children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Camping with an electric hook up this was a great and reasonably priced site. It is ideally situated for heading north to the numerous museums and attractions or South for the coast and even more attractions. Plenty of water points, camping with electric hookup there's almost one per pitch. The toilets are immaculately clean and well kept, and although its 50p for a shower, the water is hot and lasted long enough to shower our entire family of 5. Another feature being the disabled/family shower room. There is a room filled with washing machines which are handy if required. The people in the hotel are really nice and can't do enough for you.There's a children's playground, which the kids loved. There's a cafe at the shooting lodge, and if you fancy something a bit more upmarket there's the hotel itself.

Disliked: The pitches are relatively close together. Paying for showers, you've got to make sure, you have a 50p coin to hand. There's no communal fridge freezer for camping freezer blocks, the people in the hotel reception took our blocks morning and night and put them in the hotel freezers. They were really lovely about it, but it is a bit of a chore, especially as the hotel is lovely and I at times was slightly intimidated in my camping scruffs.Previous reviewers have mentioned the road noise, which is there. We did not find it an issue and it certainly never kept any of us awake, its the main route between Dorchester and Yeovil, which means it is busy but very handy.

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7

Few days away before school started back2 Sep 2014

Mandy D.
(Family with young children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Nothing

Disliked: There was no lighting on the tent pitch toilets kept running out of loo roll no shop to even get milk and bread to close to main road so very noisy showers had no where to put your stuff when having shower

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1

Poor Site and would not recommend30 Aug 2014

Claude K.
(Family with older children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Nothing

Disliked: The site was not level in any direction so made setting up an awning difficult. The sitting of the rubbish bins at one end of the site was stupid. The ladies toilets were a disaster only three cubicle. no toilet paper most of the time and a flooded floor all the time. Non existent decent shop. The rout to the toilets from the far end of the site was not thought out. A path half way along the site with built in steps up the bank would not be hard to install. The drain for the grey water from the end of the site did not flow properly. There was no elsan point on the site only one by the main toilet block and this entailed a rout march to get there. I wanted a relaxing holiday and this was not achieved. I can honestly say that it was the worst caravan site I have ever stayed at. Other people I spoke to all had the same views and would not be returning to this site. The road onto the site gave the impression that you were entering a army training ground and it was not far wrong.

Claude Kent

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1

left site after just 2 nights so holiday was cut disappointingly short28 Aug 2014

lee c.
(Mature couple, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: very little although the countryside around site was very nice

Disliked: shower block was sited in the middle of the static caravan pitches who have showers built in so don't need them this means they are at one end of the site with tourers and tents being at the other .male showers were cold and female showers had a lot of water on floor in whole block to a point of being flooded .there are only 4 showers in each and two of these in the female were out of order .there is a very busy road running along side of camp with quite a lot of traffic noise . the bins were full and overflowing so much that rubbish was stacked all around bin ,surely just another wheelie bin would cure that problem I have emailed the site about these issues but they have failed to reply .definitely not a site I will be revisiting

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2

very clean and tidy28 Aug 2014

Paul C.
(Family with young children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: We had a good time and reception was very helpful

Disliked: None

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10

not good not designed for campers facilities to far away frim campers 27 Aug 2014

keeley e.
(Extended family, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Not much

Disliked: Quite a lot to much to write on here paying 50p for showers disgraceful

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3

No good for people in tents 27 Aug 2014

Maxine M.
(Family with older children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Lean and tidy site

Disliked: To long to walk to and from toilet block and washing up area if you are in a tent this let the site down if you had theses facilities in the same felt as the camping I would give the site 10 out of ten on every thing but in the dark late at night not suitable facilities

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1

Disappointing 25 Aug 2014

RACHAEL G.
(Family with older children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Nothing.

Disliked: - The toilet/shower block is located by the static caravans which didn't make much sense to me. There are no lights and the park is pitch black when the lights go out.- plot 222 on the corner is not big enough for a caravan and awning and I think it would be dangerous for a tent.- there is no club house as advertised. There is a cafe attached to the clay pigeon shooting / go karting. The staff are as helpful as a chocolate fire guard. Advertised as being open until 1730 we went in at 1600 one day after karting and when I asked if they were open the staff looked at me like I had 4 heads and then stated they were closed. You can use the hotel, it is very quiet. - 2 of the 4 showers were not working during the stay and the site was full! The showers are poor and luke warm and there is no changing area, the drains don't work properly so the floor is easily flooded - often as far as the toilets. Shower block was dirty and rarely cleaned.-the nearest shop for bread / milk etc is 10 miles away. - I have never placed a review on here but this site was so poor I felt I had to make others aware.

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2

Overall a good stay.25 Aug 2014

Damien R.
(Family with young children, 1 review)
Confirmed

Date stayed: Aug 2014

Recommend to friends Visit again

Liked: Went in the week so the site wasn't busy.Toilets and showers clean.Electric and water very close to tents.Cheap rates.

Disliked: Noise. Tents are very close to the main road so there is traffic all night long.There is no shop, if you need to but milk for example you have to go to the hotel reception.

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(No rating)

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7

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Directions

Start address or postcode:

Clay Pigeon Caravan Park is on the A37 midway between Dorchester and Yeovil. It is easily accessible by car, air and train.

By CarFrom London (2½ - 3 hours): Take the M3 until Junction 8. Exit onto the A303 and after approx 70 miles (at the Cartgate roundabout), take the A3088 to Yeovil. At Yeovil take the A37 for Dorchester. Continue for approximately 9 miles up to the top of the hill. Our entrance is on the left-hand side (signposted The George Albert Hotel & Southern Counties Clay Pigeon Shooting). Ample parking is available.

Please Note: All guests must check-in at The George Albert Hotel. From the A37 follow the signs for the hotel and not the signs for the campsite.

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Permitted arrival/departure time

Camping and touring

Arrive:

11 a.m. –

Anytime

Depart:

11 a.m.

From 11am

Cancellation policy

No refunds within 2 days of arrival date.

Please note that your deposit is paid to Pitchup.com and is non-refundable.

Payment of balance

Clay Pigeon Caravan Park will debit the full amount from your card immediately.
This includes a 15% non-refundable deposit.

A £10 refundable deposit is required upon arrival for the supply of an electrical connection lead adapter (only applies to hardstanding pitches).